In our June issue we asked you to share your recipes for cakes that are ‘keepers’ - the tried and tested ones, passed on by friends or family. Here’s one to whet your appetite.
‘Nussecken are common in Germany, but this recipe is a hand me-down that reached my family when I was a child. The grandmother of my best friend in nursery was a proper farmer granny: solid body, solid character, solid baking! I was always in awe (and a little bit scared) of her. Baking was her love language – there were always baked goods in her little kitchen, which smelled of coffee, butter biscuits and somehow, burnt onions. She gave my mum this nussecken recipe – or rather, a brief ingredients list, handwritten on a ripped-out notebook page – and when I moved to the UK in 2016, this bit of my German home came with me in the recipe folder that my mum made for me. It’s well loved and ever-growing, and now the nussecken are my boyfriend’s favourite treat, too.’ Mareike Wehner, Prenton, Merseyside
Makes around 30
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
130g margarine
3-4 tbsp jam (such as apricot or plum)
For the topping:
220g margarine
200g sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
300-400g mixed chopped nuts (use your favourites, but definitely use almonds and hazelnuts!)
To finish:
200g dark chocolate
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas 4. Make the base by mixing all of the ingredients, except for the jam, together and spread out on a large, buttered baking tray. Spread the jam on top using the back of a spoon.
2 For the topping, melt the margarine and sugar slowly in a pan. Add the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of water. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and add the nuts, then stir to mix gently.
3 Pour the nut mix onto the base and bake everything for 25 mins, or until set and starting to brown.
4 Leave to cool, then cut into triangles that fit nicely into your palm (the equivalent of 3-4 large bites). Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and dip two corners of the triangles into the molten chocolate and leave to harden on baking paper.
Cook’s note: If bits break off, not to worry – but eat the evidence as quickly as possible! Also, if there’s any chocolate left, use a spoon and release your inner Jackson Pollock over the drying nussecken.
We shared four more recipes for your hand-me-down cakes in our June issue. It’s on sale now or available to order to your door from our online store.
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